Machine for feeding wire



2 Shee tsSheet 1.

(NoModelQ R. THOMPSON. MACHINE FOR F EEDI NG WIRE.

Patentd Nov. 8,1881.

Pg. 3. Wm- MWM I N EYERS. PMtoLiflvographer. wamin m (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shet 2. R. THOMPSON.

MACHINE POE FEEDING WIRE.

No. 249,269. Patented Nov. 8,1881

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, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

ROSEWELL THOMPSON, OF BRIDGEPOBT, CONNECTICUT.

MACHINE FOR FEEDCINGC WIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,269, dated November 8, 18 81,

Application filed February 18, 1881. (No model.) i i field and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Feeding Wire to Needle-SW21 gin g Dies, of which the following is a specification with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In using the blank-feeding attachment for swagingmachines for which Letters Patent were granted tome September 14,1875, and also that patented in connection with a swaging-machine November30, 1880, it is necessary to prepare the blanks to be operated upon by the swaging-dies by first cutting the wire to the required lengths and then bevelin g the shank ends of the same; and it has been found advantageous in practice to also bevel the op posite end instead of leaving the sharp and irregular corner to enter the swaging-dies; and the object of my present invention is to perform all these operations in connection with the swaging of the blank, and thus not only avoid considerable trouble and expense, but produce a larger quantity and better quality of work than by the old method.- This I accomplish by constructing a feeder in such a manner as to control a wire several feet in length, swage one end for the blade of the needle, and then cut ofi the blank in such a manner as to leave the proper length for the whole needle and the required bevels upon the ends of the shank and wire, all of which will herein be fully explained and described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a right-end elevation, and Fig. 3 is a plan, of thesame. Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the line as 0:, Figs. 1 and 3, looking toward the mechanism at the left. Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the lines on w w 00, same figures, also looking toward the mechanism at the left. Fig. 6 is a detached sectional view of the feedspindleand devices connected therewith. Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional drawing of therevolving end of the feed-spindle, so as to more clearly show and explain the mannerin which it is secured to the non-revolving portion of said spindle than do the smaller drawings.

Similar letters of reference indicate corrcspending parts.

A is a-portion of the bed of a needle-swaging machine.

B is an extender, upon which is secured the base of the feeder-frame C.

D is the revolving end of the feed-spindle. E is the non-revolving end of the same.

a a are the bearings for the feed-spindle.

F is a gear secured to the revolving spindle, which engages with the elongated gear G, motion being imparted to the latter by means of the train of gears H I J. y

K is a shaft fitted to revolve freely in bearings b 1) upon the side of the feeder-frame.

L is a shaft fitted to revolve freely in bearings c c at the end of the extender.

M is a shaft fitted to revolve freely in bearin gs (Z d upon the side of the feeder-frame.

N is a shaft fitted to revolve freely in bearings e 6 upon the front edgeof the bed of the swaging-machine. 1

O is a pulley secured to the end of shaft N.

f f are mitergears secured to shafts K and N.

gg' are miter-gears secured to shaftsL andM..

h ij k are cams secured to shaft M. S is a lever secured to the end of said shaft.

'1 is the wire-feeding lever, the body of which is fitted to swing freely upon the vertical stationary shaft 1. V

U is a bar secured to the end of the non-revolving feed-spindle E.

V is a lever pivoted at the upper end to the bar U. W is a roll fitted to revolve freelyupon a pin in thefree end of said lever.

X is a screw to adjust the position of the roll with respect to bar U and cam R. A spiral spring, Y, is inserted into the end of screw X, one end of which presses against leverV, the tension of said spring being adjusted by means of the rod Z, one end of which is pivoted to lever V, the other end passing freely through a hole in the center of the screw X, and secured in its proper position by means of nut an.

a is the feed-clamp fitted to slide freely in an opening in the feed-spindle E, the lower portion sliding upon the extended lower half of the sleeve'o. The lower half of the extended portion of sleeve is a part of the bushing through which the spindle E slides, both being made of one piece of metal; but the lower half only of said bushing is extended, so as to form a troughfor purposes specified. The extended portion needs no special support, it being a part of the bushing which is driven tightly in a hole of same size through the bearing. The pin which passes through both jaws of clamp n is not necessarily smallerin lower half of clamp, as appears in the drawings, but must be driven tightly in it; but said pin must pass freely through the holein the upper half of the clamp, and the hole through the pin must be large enough to allow the wire to pass through freely, the pressure of the upper clamp upon the wire being all that is required to feed the wire through the spindles.

p is a collar secured to spindle E. q is a collar fitted to turn freely upon said spindle and against said collar 19 upon one side, the other side having cams which actuate cross bar 1" upon the end of tube 8. The tubesis made in two or more parts, so that the conical point, which closes the griping-j aws, may revolve with them, for the end which is secured to the crossbar 7' can only have a reciprocating motion.

t is a lever pivoted at the lower end to ear or upon the base 0, the upper and free end operating collar q by means of connection-bar v, the latter being operated at the proper time by means of the cams j and k. i

w is a collar secured to the end of the nonrevolving spindle E, uniting the revolvin g spindle to the same bynieans of the eollarw, which is screwed to the revolving spindle in the manner shown in Fig. 7.

y is an enlon gated stud inserted into the upper end of lever t, upon which the forked arm of collar q freely slides during the forward and backward movements of the feed-spindle.

z is a portion of the body of the feed-lever T extending under cam i.

1 .is a spring secured at one end to the base G,the opposite end pressing against the under side of the body of the feed-lever T.

2 is a spiral spring, which actuates the feedlever when released from contact with cam h.

3 is a screw, which regulates the amount of stroke of the feed-lever.

4L 4: are thejaws which gripe the wire to be swaged. The face of said jaws is roughened similarly to a screw-nut, so as to penetrate the wire, when they are closed upon it, by means of the conical point of tube 8.

5 is a lever pivoted to the end of spindle 6.

7 is a pinion fitted to revolve freely upon a stud in the'upper end of lever 5, so as to be driven by gear H.

8 is the cutting-off mill, secured to the side of the pinion 7.

9 is a stud in the side of lever S, which opcrates lever 5 at the proper time.

10 is a spiral spring, which aotuates lever 5 when released by stud 9.

11 is a strap which is secured at one end to the collar 1), passes over the roll'l2, and has a weight, 13, suspended at the opposite end.

14 is a pair of dies of a needle-swaging machine, (shown in their relative position to the feed-spindle, but of which it has not been deemed necessary to show the driving mechanism.)

In putting the machine in practical operation, a wire ten feet, more or less, in length, and of the required diameter for the shank of the needle, is passed through the center of the spindle, with the parts in position as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the end of the wirejust reaching through the griping-jaws. Motion is now imparted to pulley O in the direction indicated by the arrow. Feed-clamp at now gripes the wire, in consequence of the pressure of lever T upon it, said pressure being caused by action of cam 13 upon the extended portion z of the body of said lever. 0am h now swings lever '1 forward by coming in contact with a stud upon the side of the body, (shown in dotted lines, Figs. 3 and 4,) the lever T operating on a pin in clamp a, carrying forward the clamp and wire which it grasps. Jaws 1 4 are now closed upon the wire by means of cam 9', connection o, lever t, and collar-cam q, the latter actuating cross-bar r and forcing the conical point of tubes between the jaw-levers, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Immediately after the wire is. thus secured by the griping-jaws lever T is released from pressure upon the feed-clamp n by force of spring 1, cams h and i being in such a position at this time as to allow said release and cause spiral spring 2 to bring lever T back to its original position. (lam R now imparts motion to the feed-spindle, the corner 15 being in contact with lever V and moving said feedspindle and parts attached to the same rapidly forward until the end of the wire reaches the swaging-dies. A slower and uniform rate of speed is now imparted to the feed-spindle, during the swaging operation upon the wire by means of portion 16 of said cam acting upon roll W, after which the feed-spindle is rapidly thrown back to the position shown in the drawings by power of weight 13. Now the revolving cutting-off mill is brought into action by means of lever 5, stud 9 upon the side of lever S operating the same until the needle-blank is cut off. Spiral spring 10 now brings said mill and lever 5 back to the position shown in Fig. 2. Then cam 70 operates collar-cam q through connection '0 and lever t and releases the wire from the gripe of jaws 4 4:. Lever T and feedclamp 01. are again brought into action upon the wire, and the operations repeated as above described.

The portion of the spindle at the right of collar w in the drawings has both a reciprocating and revolving motion when in practical operation; but the portion at the left of said collar has only a reciprocating motion,being prevented from turning by means of the pins 17 17, inserted into the sides, but which.

are allowed to slide freely upon the edge of the lower half of the extendedportion of sleeve 0.

The. end of said entended sleeve also serves as a stop for collar p when the same is drawn back by powerof weight 13 after the swaging operation upon the wire.

The portion16 of camR imparts a uniform.

rate of speed to the lever V and roll W; but

the spiral spring Y, inserted betweensaid lever and screw X, allows the feed-spindle to yieldslightlyduring the instant of the compression of the swaging-dies upon the wire.

Thus it will be seen that I have a machine which notonly avoids the use of a hopper for blanks and mechanism necessarily connected therewith, but also avoids the trouble and'expense of building and using other machines to prepare the blanks for the swaging operation. Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a machine for feeding wireto the dies of a needle-swaging machine, the spindles D and E, constructed with a hole through the longitudinal center of each to receive the wire,

and united together at the ends in such a manner that spindle E, which contains the wirefeeding mechanism may have areciprocating motion only, and the spindle D, which contains the mechanism which secures the wire during the swaging operation, may have both a reciprocating and revolving motibn, in combination with the actuating mechanism, for the object set forth.

2. In combination with the reciprocating and revolving spindle D and reciprocating spindle E, the jaws 4 4, tube across-bar r, and collarcam q, operated'with mechanism substantially as shown and described, for the object set forth.

3. In combination withthe reciprocating and revolving spindle D and reciprocating spindle E, the feed-clamp nyfeedlever T, and cams h and 7;, arranged to operate substantially as shown and described, for the object set forth.

rate substantially as shown and described,for

the object set forth.

6. The combination of the hollow spindle D, jaws 4 4, hollow tube .9, gear F, elongated gear G, and train of gears H I J, all arranged substantially as shown and described, for the object set forth.

7. In combination with the reciprocatingand revolving spindleD and jaws 4 4, the revolving milling-cutter S and mechanism for imparting motion to the same, and arranged in sucha relation to said spindle and jaws that the wire may becut off by said milling-cutter after the swaging operation upon the wire, for the object set forth.

8. In combination with the milling-cutter 8, the pinion 7, lever 5, adjustable stud 9, and

.lever S, all arranged to operate substantially as shown and described, for the object setforth. 9. In combination with the collar-cam qand spindles E and D, the lever 1., connection 11, and

cams j and It, all arranged to operate substantially as shown and described, for the object set forth.

ROSEWELL THOMPSON.

Witnesses:

OREN S. HosMER, CLARENCE H. GrLsoN. 

